Emphasis on "possible!"

by Denise Clark

Towering skyscrapers, modern architecture, white sand beaches, exotic local culture. It all looks rather inspiring in the brochures to a young co-ed, straight out of college, and looking to start a new career.

Now imagine this scenario: You are a beautiful young woman from Britain, wanting to do your part to better humanity. So, you take a teaching position at an international school in a Muslim country. Your ex-boyfriend, for whatever reason, uploads provocative pictures to your Facebook account and tells a colleague of yours about them. The colleague then accuses you of prostitution in a country where Sharia Law is common. What do you do?

This is exactly what happened to 24-year-old Emma Jones (photo), a teacher in Abu Dhabi. Her former boyfriend, Jamie Blayley, allegedly stole some images of Emma from her computer and uploaded them to her Facebook page. Knowing that she could face potential jail time or death under Sharia Law, Ms. Jones (allegedly), according to the coroner, drank a corrosive liquid in a possible suicide. I say "possible" because she apparently was found with her passport in her jeans and clothes ready to be packed as if to return to Britain.

As the Brits would say, it all sounds rather fishy indeed.

Cleaning fluid down her throat finding by Abu Dhabi Coroner

From The London Telegraph:

Deputy assistant coroner Thomas Atherton said he did not believe Mr Brayley was to blame for Miss Jones’s death.

Mr Atherton said he could not be sure Miss Jones, a sociology graduate, meant to kill herself and recorded an open verdict.

He said she may have accidentally drunk cleaning fluid from an unlabelled container, mistakenly believing it was water.

He said: "For whatever reason Emma expressed concern she was about to be arrested and put in prison.

"She agreed the best course of action was to leave Abu Dhabi and return to Britain. Her clothes were out and her passport was in her pocket.

“That's not someone who is contemplating suicide."

And these further rather incriminating details from Sky News, "Naked Facebook":

The 24-year-old was frightened of being jailed in the strict Muslim country after the male co-worker accused her of being a prostitute, her mother claimed.

[Her] Mum Louise Rowlands... said Miss Jones was packing to return home to Britain before she swallowed the corrosive fluid at her home in Khalifa City.

The 41-year-old care worker from Caerphilly, South Wales, told the inquest: "She (Miss Jones) said she had to get away.

"She was crying, she was breaking her heart. I said 'Emma, whatever it is can't be that bad. Just come home'."

But her daughter exclaimed: "I can't leave the country - they will throw me in jail," Mrs Rowlands said.

An attempt to flee from Sharia Law

So here we have a young woman who just wanted to teach, killing herself (allegedly; Vince Foster, call your office) because her ex-boyfriend decided to seek revenge in a country where women are possessions and have less rights than animals. And what better way to do it than to use the barbarism that is Sharia Law against her. The man is a scumbag of epic proportions.

We constantly hear about how islam is such a peaceful religion and that women really have nothing to fear under Sharia Law. Oh really? Then maybe those who support Sharia Law could explain why so many women are killed in so-called "honor killings" because they dared to live like a respectable human being with God-given rights. In Ms. Jones's case, however, she chose to take her own life in a horrific manner rather than face the torture that she believed was to be her punishment for nothing she did. Truly a sad story to tell.

While Emma Jones is only one story of fear of Sharia Law, the question remains: How many Emmas are there whose stories we don't hear? How many women commit suicide rather than face judgment by a group of Stone Age men with higher regard for their reputation than human life? And how many of these cases happen right here in the United States (and UK)? I'd bet the numbers would amaze a rational person.

Editor's Note - Denise Clark is a working mom, loving wife and mother of 3, who lives in Western Pennsylvania. She's a staunch supporter of the US Military, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Her blog is RightStuff.